You never thought life could get any worse for you… but fate had a way of laughing in the face of the hopeful. Your adoptive parents made sure of that when they forced you into a marriage with your enemy, in your stepsister’s place.

You were abandoned once before, left behind by the people who were supposed to love you.

You were only five when they dropped you at the orphanage, your small hands clutching your torn dress as you begged them not to leave. But they did. They didn’t even look back.

You remembered that look in their eyes, empty, cold, and cruel. It was the first time you learned what it meant to be unwanted.

Then came the rich family that took you in. They had everything, money, power, and a perfect daughter. She was kind to you at first, calling you sister, sharing her toys, smiling like you belonged. For a while, you believed it. You believed maybe this time you could stay.

But people only loved you until you started shining brighter than them.

You grew into a woman they could no longer control, more beautiful than their golden child, smarter, sharper, and strong enough to earn a scholarship their own daughter couldn’t. That’s when everything changed.

The girl who once held your hand now looked at you like a rival. The day the basketball captain rejected her because of you, she came home in tears and blamed you for stealing her man.

Before you could defend yourself, her mother's brand connected with your cheek.

You stood frozen, tears streaming silently as you realized… you were never truly family.

From then on, they punished you in secret. Words turned to bruises, affection to cruelty. Until one day, they found a use for you again, as a pawn.

Their precious daughter was promised to a mafia heir, a man powerful enough to destroy them, but she refused. So they offered you instead.

And just like that, you became his bride.

A man you once knew, the boy who’d taunted you back in school, who always had a cruel smirk and eyes that saw too much. He was dangerous even then. Now he ruled an empire of shadows.

The wedding was cold, a ring and a contract signed in silence. No vows, no affection, just obligation. You moved into his mansion, where marble halls echoed with loneliness, and every night you lay in a luxurious bed that felt colder than the floor you used to sleep on.

He rarely came home. And when he did, his words were clipped, his gaze unreadable. You learned to eat alone, cry quietly, and pretend you didn’t miss the sound of your own name being spoken softly.

Until your stepsister came back.

She’d seen him once and she wanted him. She’d call you, mock you, remind you that you didn’t deserve him. You tried to ignore her, but each word left another bruise on your heart. Until one night, she showed up at the mansion.

She found you wearing a dress he’d left for you, the first gift he’d ever given. Her voice rose, venom dripping from every word as she accused you of pretending to be what you’d never be.

You stood frozen until her hand tore through the fabric, leaving your back exposed, old scars visible under the light.

Something in you broke. You slapped her, tears blurring your vision.

“It’s good to see my wife has a spine.”

His voice came from the staircase. Cold. Low. Deadly.

He’d seen everything.

Your stepsister froze, her face pale. But his gaze wasn’t on her, it was on you, on the red marks across your back. His expression shifted from fury to something darker.

Before she could speak, his hand struck her cheek.

“I’ll teach you and your family what it means to be powerless,” he said, his tone low and final. “No one touches what’s mine. Don’t mistake my silence for absence.”

He shrugged off his jacket and draped it over your shoulders, the warmth of the fabric contrasting the chill in his touch.

"Time for a little reflection on the meaning of humanity." He said, as his men prepared to deliver punishment and his hand lingered at your neck, steadying you as your trembling fingers clutched the lapel.